


the curious case of Monkey Fitzsimmons

by TashxTARDIS



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Academy Era, F/M, Sci-Ops Era (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 06:38:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9807653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TashxTARDIS/pseuds/TashxTARDIS
Summary: I have this headcanon that Fitz sleeps every night with a stuffed monkey. This is the story of Monkey Fitzsimmons.





	

**1991 - Glasgow.**

Linda Fitzsimmons spent half her life worrying about her son. She knew he was different. He had always picked things up quickly, even at his young age. He was never interested in playing with his toys, instead, he would spend hours pulling them apart and putting them back together, often creating something that was much different from the original product.

She loved this about her son, his curiosity, though often meant purchasing a new toaster or lamp ever month, gave her hope but it also worried her. He had never been able to make friends like the other kids did, even his cousins thought he was a bit weird. She so desperately wanted her boy to be happy at school.

She sat in her car outside of his primary school, chewing her nails as she waited for him to come out. All the other children walked together towards their parents in groups, but Leo wasn’t in any of them. He came out by himself, the school bag almost too big for his small frame. He looked sullen, his thumb in his mouth the way he did after his dad had had a go at him.

He opened the car door and sat in the seat behind her, clipping himself into the booster seat.

“How was your day, sweetheart.” She asked him.

“Stupid” he muttered, then stuck his thumb back in his mouth. Linda sighed, the kids at his school just didn’t understand him, he wasn't into the things they were into, he knew a lot of what they were learning already because of his curiosity and desire to learn.

There had been a boarding school up in London that was mean for gifted children, but the fees were too much for their small family to handle, and his father would never have let him go.

“He should be able to get along with the boys at the local school” His father had shouted, “I’m not spending two thousand pounds a year because my sons a useless weirdo.”

“None of the others were interested in monkeys, mummy. They told me monkeys were stupid, and that cars were way cooler.”

Linda turned on the car, but instead of driving towards home she took a detour towards the local toy store. She knew what she wanted, so while Leo sat in the car she ran in and made a purchase. Leo Sr. would not be happy, but she knew her son needed this.

When she got back to the car Leo was almost asleep, but she didn’t mind waking him by placing the brown apart bag in his lap.

“What’s this, mummy?” Leo asked.

“Why don’t you open it up and take a look inside.”

He nodded and placed his hand in the bag, pulling out a medium sized toy monkey. Linda thought she could spend her life seeing the way her son's eyes lit up at the sight of the toy. She loved her sons love for monkeys, the passion she could see in his eyes when he talked about them.

“Whats this for?” He asked her.

“For you to remember that your love of monkeys is not stupid, nothing about you is stupid.”

Leo hugged the toy to his chest “I love it.”

**2003 - the academy, an undisclosed location**

Fitz had a girl coming to his room.

Jemma Simmons was one of the smartest people at the academy, top in their year, top ten in the whole school. He spent weeks trying to think of something to say that would impress her. They had been deemed lab partners just last week, and the rest was history.

Jemma had liked all his ideas about nonlethal weapons and electronic tracking systems, something they both thought would be useful, if not imperative in the field.

Fitz had never met someone like Jemma Simmons. They were the same age, but she was just like him. He had hoped they would become friends, and maybe they will.

There was a knock on his door and he opened it to see Jemma standing there holding a bottle sprite and a packet of his favorite chips.

“You said you liked these and they had them at the shop so I bought you some.”

Fitz smiled softly at her “Oh, um, thanks.” He stood aside to let her in, watching as she placed the food on the desk and went straight to the bed. She sat down on the pillow and picked up monkey.

“Whats this?” she asked.

“Oh, my mum gave it to me when I was five. I really like monkeys so she bought me a monkey.”   
Simmons smiled “It's sweet that you still sleep with it.”

Fitz blushed “No it's not, its lame. please don’t tell anyone.”

He already knew she wouldn't tell. Jemma Simmons was genuine, her smile always reached her eyes. The world excited her just as it excited him.

“Fitz, it’s cool. I’ve never met anyone who loves monkeys. Usually, it’s just cats or dogs.”

this had never happened before. He didn’t know how to react to this. Whenever monkeys came up in conversation with his friends at home they would all roll their eyes, here he goes again. Fitz had never experienced what it was like to have a genuine friend, but maybe this was what it would be like.

They left the subject there, instead focusing on coming up with ideas for their chemistry assignment.

It was getting late at night when they finally stopped working, only half an hour before dinner. They didn’t live in the same hall so she wasn't allowed to join him for dinner. Jemma had to be back in her hall at least half an hour before dinner started so she could actually get some good food.

“Are we friends?” Simmons asked him after she packed all her books away in her bag.

“Best friends.”

**2009 - Sci-ops, another undisclosed location**

Leopold Fitz had a girl in his room.

Lindsey had been flirting with him for months now, or at least that's Jemma told him before she finally asked him on a date. They had gone out last week and it had been fine, not like the riveting conversations he has with Jemma over dinner, but not boring.

Fitz took this as a good sign. So he had invited her in after their dinner date. He thought maybe they could watch something with Jemma or have some of that really nice ice cream Jemma had bought them. She had other ideas. Ideas that involved being in his bedroom.

She was sitting on his bed, holding monkey by the tail when it all went wrong.

“Whats this?” She asked.   
  
Fitz shrugged “That’s monkey. My mum bought him for me when I was five.”

“you still sleep with your baby toy?” Lindsey laughed “That’s so lame.”

Fitz froze. It was like he was at home again with his dad, his ridicules and insults pinging around his head, unable to escape from them, or at school when all the boys would laugh at him for being smart and eager to learn or make fun of his love for monkeys.

It was like someone had turned the world to slow motion as Lindsey threw Monkey on the bed and let him bounce onto the floor. He was frozen as Lindsey got up off the bed, standing on monkey as she walked towards him.

“I think you should leave.” The words squeaked out of Fitz’s mouth, his eyes never leaving the monkey on the floor.

“What?” Lindsey asked.

“I think you should leave,” Fitz said more confidently now “This isn't going to work. please leave.”

She muttered “whatever” before slamming his bedroom door behind her. Fitz walked over to monkey on the floor, tears running down his cheeks as he saw the squished face of his childhood toy.

the door opened again and Fitz looked up to see Simmons walking in. She gave him a sad smile.

“What happened?” She asked.

“She called monkey lame. then she threw him on the floor and stood on him. It’s um. It’s what my dad used to do to him.”

“Oh Fitz,” She sighed “How about we make a blanket fort on the couch and eat chunky monkey ice cream and watch all your favourite episodes of doctor who until our eyes bleed.”

Fitz nodded. He pulled himself off the floor and placed Monkey back into the middle of his bed.

**2013 - The bus, a very hard to figure out location**

Fitz had forgiven Skye almost instantly, her betrayal meant nothing to him. He loved having someone around him and Simmons’s age on the bus, even if she wasn't into science like they were.

She was into hacking, though, and Fitz could hack as well. His skills were dismal compared to her but he had the understanding to learn.

Skye was meeting him and Jemma at his bunk after dinner to give him a few pointers. He had cleaned his bunk, which meant making his bed and picking up his laundry off the floor. The space wasn't large enough for Fitz to make to much of a mess but somehow he managed.

He sat on his bed, his laptop open and ready to learn.

“Hey Fitz,” Skye said from the doorway. She walked in and sat on the bed next to him. She immediately picked up Monkey and started playing with it.

“What’s this?” She asked, “It’s so soft.”

Fitz blushed “My mum gave it to me when I was five.”

Skye stroked the toys face “You’re so lucky. I wish I had something like this from my parents. All I have is my hula lady.”

Fitz chuckled “Yeah, that's an interesting choice of decor.”

Fitz looks at Skye as she looks at monkey. Fitz cherished monkey, making sure he stays clean and well stuffed, But Fitz took the idea for granted because he had a good mother who loved him and took care of him.

Skye had none of that. She had a new foster mother each month and a lumpy bed in the orphanage. She only had herself to hold at night when she was scared or sad.

Fitz couldn't imagine that.

“I’m sorry,” Fitz said “That you lost your parents. My dad, he was um. He was really abusive towards me and my mum. He always took called me stupid and worthless. I always thought of myself as unlucky for having such a parent.”

Skye placed a hand on his shoulder “That sucks. You know, part of me doesn’t want to find my parents because what if they’re like that. but then I look at monkey and imagine my mum giving me a teddy bear when I was five, what that would be like.”  
Skye placed Monkey carefully against the pillow, pulling the blanket over him and tucked him into bed.

**2017 - the playground, the last undisclosed location**

“Fitz, do you want me to pack monkey into the suitcase or do you want to bring him on the plane.”

Fitz looked up from his phone to see Jemma standing in the closet. She was packing for their trip to Glasgow. They had finally been granted time off, and instead of going to the Seychelles, Fitz had asked if they could go visit his mum.

“probably the suitcase. I don’t want to lose him on the plane.”

Jemma pulled the suitcase from the top of the closed at laid it open on the bed.

“What if you want to sleep on the plane?”

Fitz shrugged “I’ll hold you. And I’m almost thirty years old, I really shouldn't be sleeping with my childhood teddy.”

Jemma sat next to him on the bed and pulled his hand into hers.

“Of course you can still sleep with monkey, Fitz. It’s not lame, or stupid. I actually think it's adorable. The only person who has to know is me and I’m never going to judge you.”

Fitz tugged on Jemma’s hands, pulling her down next to him. She curled into his side.

Jemma reached over him and grabbed monkey from the center of the bed. She placed monkey on Fitz’s chest and wrapped both his arms around it.

“There we go.” She murmured “Monkey means a lot to you, Fitz. He makes you feel safe and warm and protected. And part of me thinks that should be my job, as your girlfriend, but I know you and I know you love monkey and I know how special he is to you.”

Fitz pulled monkey tight into his chest. He remembered nights where he could hear his mum and dad fighting downstairs, and he would hold monkey to his chest and cry silently until it was over. Or the first few weeks at the academy when he felt so homesick. Monkey was the little piece of home that kept him grounded. The nights when Jemma was gone, either at hydra or on Maveth, he would hold the monkey all through the night, leaving tear stains over the tear stains.

“You know that you were the first person other than my mum to accept my love of monkeys.”

Jemma knew, his mother had told her a lot about Fitz’s childhood, how abusive his father was and how he was bullied all through his schooling. He had become quite shy, never sharing this part of himself with anyone. Jemma felt special, one of the few people who knew about such a large part of who he is.

“Thinking back, I think that was the day I fell in love with you. I remember being so nervous for you to come over, I even considered hiding monkey but I’m glad I didn’t.”

“Me too,” Jemma murmured.

“You’re special to me too, Jemma.” Fitz promised her “You make me feel warm and safe and protected.”

One day he would have to live without Monkey, he would get lost or broken or handed down to his child. He could live without him, but one thing he had found out was that he couldn't live without Jemma. She was and would always be his lifeline.

“Do you remember that time when you had just gone out With Lindsey cunningham?”

“Unfortunately.” Fitz’s voice was sour as flashes of memories of that horrible date came to mind.

“After she left and you were on the floor, I got this sudden rush of affection for you. You were so heartbroken and I just wanted to hold you. It's the same as I feel now. I loved you so much then, and I didn’t even know it.”

Fitz let out a quiet chuckle “Monkey brought us together.

“Monkey’s bringing everyone together.”

 


End file.
